Live @ The Forum, Kentish Town, NW1
Friday 22nd February 2008
After a busy week at work I was really looking forward to seeing one of my favorite rock bands from the '80s! I jumped on the tram and headed into Croydon before changing at London Bridge for the tube on the Northern Line to Kentish Town. Having never been to The Forum before I was not sure what to expect but was happy to see a big standing area by the stage as I got in. The que for the bar was unreal, 10/15 mins, 4 people deep and only 5 bar staff, terrible!
Crowd capacity was 2000 but I got a good spot right near the front and took a few pictures too!
The entire set list in no particular order was:
Sun King, The Witch, Fire Woman, Electric Ocean, Edie (Ciao Baby), Wild Flower, Lil' Devil, Revolution, Rain, Peace Dog, Rise, Dirty Little Rock Star, Born Into This, Love Removal Machine, She Sells Sanctuary and
Phoenix... WOW! I waited 21 years to hear that live and it was awesome!
I was bouncing about all night, singing all the words and having a crazy time in the mosh pit, also taking a few pictures before my battery went flat! It was like being 17 all over again and I loved every second of it! After the show I hung around at the bar, drinking lots of water and Pepsi, it was bloody hot but so much fun! I saw a few lads who had been near me and we had a quick chat. Suddenly a girl one of them knew said "Follow me!" so we did. She was with someone else who claimed they knew the band and so after a bit of hassle with security we managed to blag our way into the VIP backstage bar! I bought a drink then spotted the bass player and we had a chat, he was chilled and and told me about the trip over from Los Angeles. I then bought the rythym guitarist a beer and it turned out too he is a long distance runner so we had a good natter and exchanged email addresses! I met the drummer in the bog while we were both having a slash and finally I got to meet Billy Duffy himself.
Billy Duffy's guitar work was quite unique in the mid 80's and set him apart from mainstream guitarists, to hear Phoenix live was just one of the nights' many highlights. I spent about 5 minutes with him and told him of a friend I have in North Wales who knows him through Mike Peters from The Alarm. It was weird to meet him face to face but even in a VIP bar he was the same as you or me - except for the fact he has recorded 10 or more albums and sold millions of records all over the world! Nice bloke. I was only able to shake the hand of the lead singer, Ian Astbury - he was preoccupied to the point of leaving within minutes of arriving. It absolutely made my night to meet the people who created the music that changed my way of thinking about music 21 years ago.
If that wasn't enough I found out through the grapevine that they are playing an unadvertised gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street in London. I wasn't planning to see them again and after meeting them I thought what could top that?! I went on Ticketmaster.... nothing! Other sites... still nothing! I tried Ebay and
! 2 tickets for £75. I emailed the seller who then left me his mobile number.
My question was: "Can you 100% garruntee I will have the tickets for Tuesday if I bid?"
"100%, I'll go to an internet cafe when I get off the train at London Paddington, close the auction, do a Buy It Now and the tickets are yours!" And he did, tickets will arrive recorded delivery tomorrow!
Best gigs I've been to? Probably... Let you know after tomorrow night!
